Technical and Repair Assistance

[133MHz]

Lines running around the picture could be because of poor power filtering on the power adapter side (dry or inadequate filter capacitor) but to tell you the truth I don't see anything wrong in the SMB pics . Do you get any sort of buzzing in the audio?

As ericj said, have you tried another telly?

[ericj]

You might also want to try another set of RCA cables to rule them out as well. Also, check and make sure there isn't corrosion on the female video output on the Twin.

[Muzer]

Lines running around the picture

They don't run around the picture, they stay static, and only in some places in some games (see the 3D Hot Rally Status Bar picture)

I don't see anything wrong in the SMB pics

It is supposed to be SMB2J. So where is the shadow below the text? And look at the Mario and Koopa sprites in the 3rd pic. They look really horrible where the colours join.

have you tried another telly?

I will try this

You might also want to try another set of RCA cables to rule them out as well.

I'll try this as well

Also, check and make sure there isn't corrosion on the female video output on the Twin.

There actually is a bit, but surely corrosion would mean that the bad bits of the image change if you wobble it about (Whereas the bad bits are consistent and happen every time)

[wentle85]

I want to make sure i'm absolutely clear on this. I just got my Sharp Twin Famicom from the post office today but I still haven't got the converter yet. Am I correct that it will be ok to play on it for a short amount of time without the converter but for the long run I should have one? I'm using an american outlet and a Japanese ac adapter that say AC 100v and DC 7.6v.

I really want to play it but I don't want to fry it. Help me out here.

[ericj]

I use my Twin with the adapter it came with it and it's been fine. I only plug it in when I play it and unplug it when I'm done. You'll be okay. 

Most US devices operate on 110V input. I don't think a converter is really necessary and is a waste of $. The AC adapter only provides 7.6V output, even with 110V input. The AC adapter will just get a little warm but it won't harm it for short periods but may if plugged in all the time. AC adapters should never be plugged in all the time anyways unless you want to prematurely kill them.

[nurd]

toysonlinehk has a power thing and it's great.

I've left it plugged in for over a week and nothing went wrong.

[wentle85]

I have one coming in the mail from them right now. I'm glad to hear some one has used it with no problem though. I just got finished hooking up my Twin and playing it for the first time! I love it! Now I just have to wait for the rest of my games to get here.

Thanks for the info guys!

[JC]

I'm having trouble loading my Toy Story unlicensed original. It's a glob-top. I suspect there's nothing that can be done, but just in case, I thought I'd post here. I cleaned the contacts and lined up the pins. Weird thing is that it worked a week before it got to me. It's the only one in a lot hat didn't work.

[133MHz]

An address or data line could have shorted due to electrostatic discharge. Happened to Kevin Horton as seen here

An aside:  When I got this cart, it was sort of DOA.  The CHR ROM had some
major problems... apparently the CHR ROM underwent an ESD event (read: static
electricty) which blew the input protection circuitry.  There was a "soft"
short between A8 and A13 of about 34 ohms.  I managed to fix this however
by connecting A8 to 5V and then shorting A13 to ground.  The cart functions
properly and I got to dump it :-)

Care enough to whip out the multimeter and test them?

[wolf9545]

I have a famicom that I got from ebay; was posted as "as-is" but in very good condition (no scratches and came with the AC adapter and the RF adapter all orignal).  I received it and when I connected it to my tv with the RF adapter that came with it and a NES RF while using the AC adapter that came with it.  No luck even when going through all the channels.  The tv displays the famous white noise and doesn't change or flicker if I turn on or off the famicom.

I tested the voltage out of the AC adapter (17V) and tested the amps (around 4 or 5 amps) so I know the AC adapter is working. I was reading on this board that a lot of times the 7803 power regulator goes so I replaced that; no luck.  I do know that the game works fine because I also have one of those "family boy" Chinese clones to test the game in.

I was thinking about replacing the caps but not to sure if that is the problem since the tops of the caps look fine.  Any suggestions on what might be wrong?  I can post pics if needed.

[133MHz]

Hello, welcome to the forums!

You could try to see if you get some sort of composite video signal from the point(s) used to do the AV mod, touch the outer ring of the audio RCA connector to a ground plane and the tip of the video connector to the solder point used as video out, all these with the Famicom turned on, a game in, and the TV on and in AV mode. You should get a weak, dark video signal at the very least.

[ericj]

You could also try running it through a VCR with a NES RF switch and see if that works.

EDIT: Check to see if there is power to the on/off switch.

[wolf9545]

You could also try running it through a VCR with a NES RF switch and see if that works.

EDIT: Check to see if there is power to the on/off switch.

I tried running it through a DVD recorder with the NES RF switch and that didn't help.  I tested the voltage through the power switch and I was getting zero.

[wolf9545]

Hello, welcome to the forums!

You could try to see if you get some sort of composite video signal from the point(s) used to do the AV mod, touch the outer ring of the audio RCA connector to a ground plane and the tip of the video connector to the solder point used as video out, all these with the Famicom turned on, a game in, and the TV on and in AV mode. You should get a weak, dark video signal at the very least.

Do I have to build the whole AV mod circuit or can I just take a composite wire and touch to the points on the Famicom boards?

[133MHz]

You can just take the composite video wire and touch it to the video points on the board. The image will be dark and washed out, but it will be enough proof that the Famicom is working.